Automatic window closer



Sept. 24, 1963 Filed July '7, 1961 J. s. KAWABATA 3,104,870

AUTOMATIC WINDOW CLOSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 [720672507 dfimesifizaaia J. sf KAWABATA AUTOMATIC wmnow CLOSER Sept. 24,1963

Filed July '7, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 States Patent Ofice 3,1 64,8 7d Patented Sept. 24, 1963 3,104,870 AUTOMATIC WINDOW CLOSER James S. Kawabata, 4317 N. Hermitage, Chicago, Ill. Filed July 7, 1961, Ser. No. 122,535 1 Claim. (Cl. 268-123) This invention relates to an automatic window closer, and particularly to such a device that is responsive to rain and is adapted to automatically close the lower sash of a double hung window installation.

A wide variety of rain-responsive automatic window closers have been proposed in the art, and most of these have been adapted for use with double hung windows. In prior devices it has been found that quite complicated structures have been employed, and in many instances the installation of the window closer has required modification to a substantial extent in the counterbalance mechanism of the window structure. These devices as proposed by the prior art have utilized paper as a rainresponsive sensing element to render the closing device operative, and in many instances the closing device has been of such a character as to be adapted only for a particular size and a particular range of opening of the window.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a window closing device that is simple and economical in character, and which may be installed without modifying the counterbalance or other portions of the window structure. An object related to the foregoing is to provide an automatic window closer which may be associated with the sash and the sill through the use of relatively small fixed elements and may be removed from its operating position when not in use.

Another object of this invention is to provide a window closing device wherein the spring that provides the window closing force may be adjusted as to its closing force and its spring rate, thereby to enable the window closer to be adapted to a wide variety of conditions that are encountered in use.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims, and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, by way of illustration, show preferred embodiments of the present invention and the principles thereof, and what is now considered to be the best mode in which to apply these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a window closing device embodying the features of the invention, the device being shown in its operative position with respect to a double hung window installation;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the window closing device;

"FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the lower portion of the device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of an alternative lug or support pin structure;

FIG. 5 is a view of the lower portion of the closing device with a paper sensing element in its active position thereon;

FIG. 5A is a perspective view of a paper sensing element in the form of a sleeve;

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view of the window closing device in its set position where it is holding the lower sash in a raised position;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 and showing the window closing device after the paper sensing element has been broken and the closing device has started through its cycle of operation; and

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIGS. 6 and 7 showing the relationship of the parts just at the time when the downward movement of the sash has started.

For purposes of disclosure the invention is illustrated as embodied in a window closing device 10 which in FIG. 1 is shown in its effective position with relation to the lower sash 11 of a double hung window installation 12. The window closing device 10 embodies a lower operating unit 14 that is associated with the window sill 15 by means of a bracket 16, and the operating unit 14 is in turn associated with the lower end of an elongated rod 17 which in the present instance is made from wood, and is of rectangular cross section. Near its upper end portions the rod 17 has a plurality of openings 18 formed into which supporting lugs or pins 19 may be selectively inserted with the selected location of the pin 19 serving to determine the open position in which the window sash 11 is to be held.

The rod 17 also has an adjustable bracket 20 fixed thereto, as will be described, and in this bracket and at one side of the rod 17, an elongated coil spring 22 is fixed, the other end of the coil spring 22 having the usual loop 22L thereon whereby this other or upper end of the spring 22 may be anchored on a relatively small hook 23 that is secured to the upper or meeting rail 11M of the sash 11.

The adjustable bracket 20 is formed as a sheet metal stamping that is generally U-shaped in form so that it may embrace the rod 17, and a bolt 24 and a wing nut 25 connect the free ends of the bracket 20 and may be used to tighten the clamp 20 on the rod at any desired vertical location, thus to adjust the force of the spring 22.

.At the closed end of the U-shaped clamp 20, an outward bowed portion 20A is formed so that the lower end of the spring 22 may be extended through this bowed portion 20A, and a transverse pin 20? is extended through appropriate openings in the portions 20A-and through the coils of the spring 22 so that the effective length of the spring 22 may be adjusted. This enables the spring rate to be varied. The spring receiving bowed portion 20A is so positioned that the centerline of the spring 22 is disposed in substantially the plane of the outer face of the rod 17, as will be evident in FIGS. 2, 6-, 7 and 8, and this location is important as-will be described.

The operating unit 14 of the device is provided primarily by an elongated arm 30 that is of U-shaped cross section so as to provide ears 30E that extend along opposite sides of the rod 17 in spaced relation thereto as will be evident in FIG. 3 of the drawings.

The arm 30 is pivoted on the lower end of the rod 17 by means of a plate 33 that is secured by screws 34 to the inner face of the rod 17 so as to dispose a pair of oppositely extending ears 33E somewhat below the lower end of therod 17. The cars 33E extend through pivot openings 35 in the ears 30E. One of the ears 30E also has another pivot opening 36 formed therein which is utilized to associate the operating unit 14 with the bracket 16. Thus, as shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings, the bracket 16 includes a bottom plate 16B that is apertured to provide for mounting screws 1168 that secure the bracket to the window sill 15 as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8. The bottom plate 1613 has an upwardly extended stem 168 formed from a metal rod, this rod having a cross pin 16F near its upper end that extends outwardly beyond one side of the stem 168. The end of the pin 161 is enlarged and split as at 116 so as to provide an enlarged head over which the aperture 3 6 may be forced. This amounts the arm 30 on the pin 16P for pivotal movement. A bow spring formed from spring wire is generally U- Shaped in character, and has the U-shaped portion embracing the lower portion of the rod 17 while arms 130A extend longitudinally within the U-shaped arm 30, and this spring is utilized to urge the arm 30 to the relationship shown in FIG. 2.

It will be noted that with this construction the operating unit 14 may be put in its position on the supporting pin 16?, and then by rocking the arm 30 about the axis of the pin 16F while maintaining the rod 17 in its substantially vertical position, the rod 17 may be raised and lowered through alimited range between an upper position shown in FIG. 6, and a lower position shown in FIG. 8. This raising and lowering action is important under the present invention in securing the desired window closing action.

When the unit is to be put into place to hold the window sash 11 in open position, the arm 30 is moved to the set position shown in FIGS. and 6, which places the spring 13d under tension tending to rock the arm 30 to its released position of FIG. 2. The arm 30 is held in its set position of FIGS. 5 and 6 by extending a paper sensing member 4%} about the arm 30 and the rod 17 in the general relationship shown in FIG. 5. This paper used for this purpose is of the kind that has a low wet strength. In FIG. 5, a strip of paper has been used for this purpose and has been wound around the arm 3!} and the rod 17, and the paper strip 49 is then held in place by a locking wedge 41 that may be made of rubber and which is forced through a longitudinal slot 42 that is formed in the arm 30. This forces a portion of the paper through the slot 42 and attains a locking action. If desired, the paper anchoring element may be made in the form of a sleeve 49S as shown in FIG. 5A, and before the unit 14- is put in position on the bracket 16, the sleeve 408 may be slipped over the end of the device as to occupy the position shown in dotted outline in FIG. 6.

With the operating unit 14 in this set position, the

unit is associated with or put in place on the pin 16F,

and the window sash 11 is raised. With the pin 19 set at the desired point on the rod 17, the upper end portion of the rod 17 is rested against the lower rail of the sash 11 with the pin 19 in position beneath the lower edge of the sash as shown in FIG. 6. The spring 22 is then stretched upwardly and at its upper end is anchored by placing the loop 22L over the hook 23. This involves the application of a considerable downward force to the sash 11, so that the sash 11 is held downwardly in engagement with the pin 19. It might be pointed out, however, that the spring 22 at this time also exerts a force on the rod 17 which tends to rock the rod 17 about the pivot pin 16F in a clockwise direction away from the sash 11. This action being caused by the fact that the pin 161, the pin 2GP and the point at which the spring 22 is anchored on the bracket 23 are out of alignment. This force on the rod 17 results from the fact that the lower end of the spring 22 is at this time located outwardly from the center line 22C extended between the pivot 16? and the upper spring loop 22L. At this time, however, the frictional engagement of the lower edge of the sash 11 with the pin 19 prevents such til-ting movement of the rod 17, but this tendency of the rod 17 toward inward tilting is utilized as will now be described in causing the device to operate and automatically close the window.

Thus, sash 11 is held in its open position of FIG. 6 so long as the paper sensing element 405 remains dry, but when the sensing element 405 becomes wet and is thereby weakened, the spring 130 is effective on the arm 30 to break the sensing member 408. When the sensing member 408 breaks, the spring 130 becomes effective to cause rapid shifting movement of the arm 30 from the position shown in FIG. 6 toward and through the position shown in FIG. 7, and this in turn causes rapid downward movement of the entire rod structure, thus to shift the pin 19 in a downward direction away from the lower edge of the 4 sash 11. While this action is taking place, the spring 22 is of course urging the sash 11 downwardly, but the inertia of the parts is such that the rod 17 and the pin 19 are Withdrawn downwardly before any appreciable downward movement of the. sash 11 can take place.

Once the pin 19 has been moved downwardly out of engagement with the sash 11, the above described tilting action of the rod 17 takes place under the influence of the spring 22 so that the rod 17 shifts in a clockwise direction about the pin 1 61 to the position shown in FIG. 8 where the pivots 16F, 29F and the upper loop 22L of the spring are in alignment as indicated by the center line 22C shown in FIG. 8. The pin 19 at this time is out of the path of the downward movement of the sash 11, and

the downward force applied to the sash 11 by the spring 22 may then move the window downwardly to closed position.

It should be pointed out that the present closing device does not need to have a cushioning arrangement for the sash 11 to prevent jar of the sash when it reaches its closed position, and this result is made possible because of the different ways in which the spring 22 may be adjusted.

In the event that an even more rapid withdrawal of the pin 19 from its eifective position is desired the struc- V ture illustrated in FIG. 4 may be used. This pin structure requires a special shouldered bore 118 to be provided and the pin has a loose fit within the bore 118. The pin 119 has an expansive coil spring 219 thereon that is tightly wound at 219A at about one end of the pin 119 so as to be fixed thereto and throughout the balance of the lengths the spring 219 isloosely wound about the pin 119. At its other end the pin has several coils 319 that are closely spaced, and when the pin 119 is put in position, it must be pressed to compress the free coils of the spring 219 in order to project the pin to the dottedline position shown in FIG. 4. With this pin structure, the slot 219A causes immediate withdrawal of the pin to its full line of position when the pin is lowered toward the relationship shown in FIG. 7, and hence rigid action of the unit is assured' From the foregoing it will be apparent that the present invention provides a window closing device which may be used to close the lower sash of a double hung window installation under widely varying conditions. The window closing device is simple in character and may be manufactured and sold at a reasonable price. Moreover, the window closing device that has been provided requires no modification of the Window installation except to provide for the installation of the hook and the mounting bracket, and the major portion of the window closing device may be removed and stored when not in use.

Thus while preferred embodiments of the invention has been illustrated herein, it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made by those skilled in the .art without departing from the spirit and scope of the appending claim.

I claim:

A moisture controlled window sash operator comprising vertically movable, pivotally supported rod means having at least a flat front and side face and ends, bracket means secured to the window sill, a pivotally mounted controller arm secured to one end of said rod so as to be positioned parallel to said rod in released position, pivot means securing said controller arm to said bracket, second pivot its released perpendicular position, moisture activated control means disposed circumferentially about said rod and pivoted controller arm and maintaining said controller arm in set position parallel to said rod against the action of said spring, vertically adjustable bracket means mounted on said rod means, a coil spring, one end therev p of mounted in said bracket and disposed adjacent the forward face and parallel to said side face of said rod, hook means secured to said movable sash, the other end of said spring being secured to said hook means, pin means secured to and extending from the front face of the rod to engage the under side of the sash and maintain the sash in open position, said coil spring when in stretched operative condition forcing said rod to over center condition relative to the axis of said spring, said controller arm when released by said moisture control means pivoting to References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Kauifman et a1. Nov. 10, 1936 Shochet July 6, 1937 

